Cartier Owner Worries Wealth Gap Will Spark “Social Warfare”

Johann Rupert, head of the conglomerate that owns Cartier and several other jewelry and watch brands, says the current wealth gap is “not sustainable” and will fuel social unrest.

“We cannot have 0.1 percent of 0.1 percent taking all the spoils,” said the Richemont executive chairman, according to Bloomberg. “It’s unfair, and it is not sustainable.”

“How is society going to cope with structural unemployment and the envy, hatred, and the social warfare?” he said. “We are destroying the middle classes at this stage, and it will affect us. It’s unfair. So that’s what keeps me awake at night.”